Jury service 'needs the over-65s'

Mr McLetchie says the over-65s would enhance the legal system

A Conservative MSP has called for a change in the law to allow over-65s to take part in jury service in Scotland.

At the moment, anyone above the age of retirement is excluded from sitting on a jury.

Lawyer and former Tory leader David McLetchie says the limit is outdated, ageist and fails to recognise older people's expertise and experience.

The Scottish Executive said it would look at raising the limit as part of its legal system review.

Mr McLetchie argues that older people still lead busy, active lives long after retirement and are more likely to have the time to sit on a jury.

He said dropping the restriction would ease the burden on younger people, who have to juggle work and family commitments.

If we push the age limit up to 70, it would add many more people to the pool and share the burden among a broader section of society David McLetchie MSP

The MSP for Edinburgh Pentlands said the older generation benefited from greater life experience, which they could draw on when making a decision, and rejected any suggestion that they may not be as alert as younger jurors.

Speaking to BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr McLetchie said: "It seems that when you are a judge, you can serve on the bench until the age of 70, or in some cases 73, yet you can be barred from sitting on a jury if you are over 65.

"If they pushed the limit up from 65 to 70, there's an extra 200,000 people in Scotland who could actually make a contribution.

"Many of them have time on their hands and many of them are more than willing to do their duty.

"Statistics show they would find it an interesting task compared with many people under 65 who are in work, find it difficult to get time off and for whom jury service is regarded as a chore."

The MSP added that jury service was a "civic responsibility that we all have to undertake".

He said: "There is a lot of difficulty in finding jurors - we need 15 on a jury in Scotland.

"I just think if we push the age limit up to 70, it would add many more people to the pool and share the burden among a broader section of society."